“Nigeria Is Bleeding” — Peter Obi Calls for State of Emergency over Benue Massacre

By Diafa Doubra,

Former 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has issued a potent condemnation of the catastrophic wave of violence that recently struck Benue State, calling the attacks a national emergency and indicting leadership failure in the harshest terms.

In a heartfelt post on X, Obi lamented the massacre of over 200 people including women, children, soldiers, and displaced persons describing the tragedy as a horrific reminder of how deeply insecurity has penetrated Nigerian life. “This tragedy has become too common in our national life,” he wrote. “The Benue situation now calls for a national emergency.”

Obi didn’t hold back in his critique of government in action. He portrayed the repeated loss of civilian life not as isolated incidents of violence, but as “a failure of leadership, a stain on our collective conscience.” He emphasized that the state’s primary obligation to protect lives and property had been fundamentally neglected. “We cannot accept the normalization of mass killing. It is intolerable,” Obi declared.

Reaching out to the people of Benue, Obi expressed shared grief and solidarity:

“Your pain is our pain. The blood of your loved ones cries out for justice.”
He underscored that meaningful intervention must go beyond empty words, urging authorities to take decisive, protective action for citizens, not just symbolic gestures. “A safe, secure Benue is not too much to ask; it is our moral duty, our national duty,” he asserted. “This is not the Nigeria we deserve, nor the Nigeria we aspire to. We must end this bloodshed. We must reclaim our humanity.”